Tropical Storm Barry (1995)
Tropical Storm Barry was the second named storm of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season. Barry formed on July 6 in the open Atlantic Ocean well to the east of the East Coast of the United States. Barry drifted to the southeast, then moved north-northeast and struck Hart Island, Nova Scotia on the evening of July 9 as a 50 mph tropical storm. Less than hour later, in a weakened state, Barry made landfall at Cape Breton Island. Barry became an extratropical cyclone early on July 10 near the west coast of Newfoundland. Barry caused no known damage or fatalities. Barry east of Cape Hatteras on July 7 http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9061/tropicalstormbarryeg9.png Formation July 6, 1995 Dissipation July 10, 1995 Highest winds 70 mph Lowest pressure 989 mbar Deaths None reported Damages Unknown Areas affected Atlantic Canada Part of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season Meteorological history http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/87/barrytracksp5.png At 0600 UTC July 5, National Hurricane Center surface analysis indicated that a weak 1019 mb frontal low exited midway between Bermuda and South Carolina. Based on available ships, maximum sustained surface winds were estimated at 10 to 20 knots. Satellite imagery that the clouds associated with the low gradually became isolated from the frontal cloud band over the next 24 to 36 hours. In addition, satellite imagery also revealed that a low-level circulation center became better defined just to the west of a small cluster of deep convection, and it is estimated that the low became Tropical Depression Two near 1800 UTC July 6. After forming, the depression was under the influence of some westerly wind shear, as evidenced by the small cluster of deep convection remaining to the east of the low-level center. The depression moved little on July 5 and July 6. The circulation became better defined as evidenced by a low- to mid-level curved convective cloud band, and post-season analysis indicates that the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Barry near 0600 UTC July 7. During the day on July 7, Barry began to move north-northeast near 10 knots. This put Barry into an area of light vertical wind shear and allowed deep convection to become conslidated around the western semicircle of the cyclone. The presence of a negatively tilted mid- to upper-level trough just to the southwest of Barry appears to have favored the temporary increase in convection. At 2100 UTC July 7, Barry reached its peak intensity of 70 mph, just under hurricane intensity. At this time, reconnaissance aircraft reported hurricane force winds at a fight-level of 1500 feet, but the minimum central pressure of 998 mb reported by the aircraft was not low enough to support upgrading Barry to a hurricane. Convection decreased significantly after the strongest winds were reported by aircraft, and it is believed that the aircraft winds were associated with a transitory mesoscale feature. By 0000 UTC July 8, satellite imagery revealed a cloud-free center within relatively weak surrounding convection. The next peneteration by reconnaissance aircraft indicated that the pressure had changed little with Barry, but that the flight-level winds had decreased significantly, all the way down to 45 mph less than the winds that were measured on July 7 by the aircraft. By 1800 UTC that day, a small area of deep convection developed near Barry's circulation center. Barry began to accelerate to the north-northeast in advance of a large amplitude trough moving eastward over the eastern United States. Barry's Central Dense Overcast grew until near 1200 UTC July 9. Some of the increase in convection may have been related to Barry's passage over a warm eddy of water that moved northward from the Gulf Stream to near 42°N between 63-66°W. Convection associated with Barry began to decrease as it moved north-northeast over cooler water. The maximum winds began to spread out further from the center as Barry gradually lost its tropical characteristics, although upper-air soundings indicated that Barry still had a warm core as it passed near Sable Island. At around 2130 UTC July 9, Barry made landfall over eastern Nova Scotia near Hart Island and then continued north-northeast over Cape Breton. Shortly after 0600 UTC July 10, Barry became extratropical near the western coast of Newfoundland. As a weakening extratropical cyclone, Barry could be tracked to the near the southeastern coast of Labrador before losing its identity. Impact The highest rainfall total reported in Nova Scotia was just under 4 inches in the eastern part of the country. Barry produced little strong winds on land. Barry caused no known damage and no fatalities. Lack of Retirement Because impacts were minimal, the name Barry was not retired in the Spring of 1996 by the World Meteorological Organization. It was used again during the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, and was used again during the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, and it is on the list of names to be used for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. See Also 1995 Atlantic hurricane season * NHC Barry report *NHC Advisory Archives on Barry References http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1995barry.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Barry_%281995%29